Kubiak and staff safe but far from resting on laurels

Head coach Gary Kubiak, center, special teams coordinator Joe Marciano, left, and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips are all but locks to be back with the Texans.

Head coach Gary Kubiak, center, special teams coordinator Joe...

Owner Bob McNair was as disappointed as anyone over the Texans blowing their shot at home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and losing on the road in the divisional round for the second consecutive season.

In a day-long meeting with his coaches last week, beginning with head coach Gary Kubiak, McNair let his feelings be known. The Texans didn't reach their goal of winning the Super Bowl. He's not happy about it, but they won't change their goal for next season.

The Texans are one of four teams that haven't played in a Super Bowl. Detroit, Cleveland and Jacksonville are the others.

Kubiak, who has been to six Super Bowls as a player and coach and owns three rings, will return for his eighth season. His assistants also will be back unless another team offers a promotion.

Strengths: Continuity from top to bottom on the staff. Kubiak enters his eighth season with a staff that has Super Bowl and playoff experience. They will have the same systems.

Weaknesses: They played a tougher schedule and slipped in their offensive and defensive rankings. They haven't reached their goal of winning a Super Bowl.

Bottom line: Owner Bob McNair likes his coaches and supports them, so Kubiak and his coordinators aren't going anywhere. They have helped the team to the two best seasons in franchise history.

Changes to be minor

Continuity on the staff, including the same offensive and defensive systems, is good for the players. Kubiak, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will tinker with their systems, but it won't be anything noticeable to the fans.

Special teams coordinator Joe Marciano, who's been with the team since its inception, looked a lot smarter in the playoff loss to New England when Danieal Manning had three kickoff returns that led to scores. Marciano could have a new kicker and punter for a third consecutive season.

Once the fans get over the disappointment of what they consider a premature playoff exit, they'll look back on the 2011 season and see a team that finished with a franchise-best record of 12-4, won the AFC South for the second consecutive season, won a playoff game for the second year in a row, posted a winning record for the third time in four years and set a team record in scoring.

There was a lot to like about the season, including the 11-1 start in which plenty of people ranked the Texans as the best team in the league.

But there was a lot not to like over the last part of the season.

The offense, coached by Kubiak and Dennison, averaged 16 points over the last four games. It fizzled in the red zone and failed miserably on third down. Quarterback Matt Schaub threw one touchdown pass in the last four games.

Then came the worst coaching job of the season. All they needed to do was to beat Minnesota at Reliant Stadium to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs. But the coaches didn't have the players ready for the Vikings, and they were embarrassed 23-6 by Minnesota. It was the first time since 2006 the Texans failed to score a touchdown.

A finish to forget

The Texans followed up their humiliating performance against the Vikings by laying another egg at Lucas Oil Stadium, losing 28-16 to the Colts and being relegated to third seed and another wild-card game.

A victory over the Vikings or Colts would have meant the road to the Super Bowl came through Houston for the first time. They would have played Baltimore, a team they defeated 43-13 at Reliant Stadium, in the divisional round after a first-round bye.

We'll never know if Kubiak and his assistants could have ignited their players to do to the Ravens this season what the Ravens did to them last season - beat them during the regular season at home and eliminate them in the playoffs at home, too.

Fortunately for the Texans, they whipped Cincinnati in the wild-card round for the second consecutive season. The offense stalled in the red zone, and they pulled out a 19-13 victory that shouldn't have been so close.

Then they returned to New England and got embarrassed again, and now they're preparing for the offseason - free agency and the draft and a lot of normal turnover on the roster.

Because Schaub stayed healthy this season after missing six games in 2011, the Texans improved in league rankings. They finished seventh in offense, including eighth in rushing and 11th in passing. They were 13th, second and 18th in 2011.

One of Kubiak's goals is to be among the top five in rushing, so they missed that one.

Defense not as dominant

The defense took a huge drop. In 2011, Phillips' first season, the Texans ranked second, including fourth against the run and third against the pass. They plunged to seventh in defense, including seventh against the run and 16th against the pass. They had 44 sacks, the same as 2011.

The defense couldn't blame the difference on playing better quarterbacks. Jacksonville's Chad Henne came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes.

The Texans have a good staff that's respected around the league. Before camp, they'll have to work new players into their systems. Somehow, they have to improve in the red zone and on third down. Kubiak has to find a way for Schaub to throw more than 22 touchdown passes.

Phillips has to find a way for his defense not to give up 29 touchdown passes. Only five teams allowed more touchdown passes than the Texans.